A blog about business in Fort Worth and North Texas, by the staff of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

87 posts categorized "Jobs"

04/19/2013

Texas experienced a rare interruption in its recent record of employment growth last month, as the state's employers trimmed 4,100 nonagricultural jobs from a month earlier. The state's jobless rate, adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, remained unchanged at 6.4 percent, however, as the civilian labor force also contracted slightly. Manufacturing lost 6,200 wage-and-salary positions and the services category that includes wholesale and retail trade, transportation and utilities lost 10,300 jobs. Categories that gained jobs in March included construction, finance and leisure/hospitality. For the past year, Texas employers have added 329,500 jobs, or 3.1 percent, the Texas Workforce Commission said. The state jobless rate a year earlier was 7 percent.

In Fort Worth-Arlington, the unadjusted jobless rate was 6.1 percent, compared to the state's unadjusted rate of 6.3 percent. Metropolitan area statistics are not seasonally adjusted, while state and national figures typically are. Employers in Fort Worth-Arlington, which includes Tarrant, Johnson, Wise and Parker counties, added 1,500 jobs in March and are up 23,700 jobs in the past year. In March 2012 the local jobless rate was 6.8 percent.

04/17/2013

In what is likely to be one of the largest single-day job fairs, Aerotek, a provider of recruiting and staffing services, is hosting a job fair Saturday to fill 1,000 contract manufacturing positions for a Fortune 500 company in Fort Worth.

That’s a ton of jobs, yet Aerotek is not naming the company.

"It’s up to the discretion of the company," said Heather Woolford, a public relations professional who works with Aerotek. And in this case, the company didn’t want their name out there, she said.

The way it works, the company contracts with Aerotek to fill the positions and those individuals become employees of Aerotek. Depending on the number of hours a week the position requires, fulltime employees can be eligible for benefits from Aerotek, she said.

The positions will be filled within a couple of weeks of the job fair and the contract right now will run indefinitely, Woodford said.

The positions include assembler 1 and 2 levels, material handler, forklift driver, test technician, test operator and quality inspector. The potential contractors also must be willing to work weekends and overtime, as needed.

Pre-registration is not required. Interviews will be conducted onsite. Candidates must be 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or GED, and have legal authorization to work in the U.S. Attendees should bring references, a resume and recent certification, relevant to the position applying for.

12/21/2012

The Texas unemployment rate dropped to 6.2 percent in November, down from 6.6 percent in October and the lowest since December 2008, the Texas Workforce Commission said Friday. The state's jobless rate was down more than a percentage point from 7.3 percent a year ago and remains well below the national rate of 7.7 percent. Texas employers added 22,100 total nonfarm jobs in November for a total of 278,800 jobs added over the year, TWC said.

In Fort Worth-Arlington, the jobless rate improved even more, falling to 5.6 percent in November from 6.1 percent in October and 7 percent a year ago. Those local metro numbers are not adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, while the state numbers are. The comparable unadjusted jobless rate in November was 5.8 percent for Texas and 7.4 percent for the United States. The state's lowest jobless rates were 3 percent in Midland and 3.6 percent in nearby Odessa, in the middle of the Permian Basin oil boom. Brownville-Harlingen had the highest rate at 9.7 percent.

12/10/2012

Reckitt Benckiser, a British-based maker of household cleaning and consumer health products, as well as foods, plans to lay off 98 in Fort Worth when it closes a local facility next year, the company said in a filing with the state. According to its website, the company's numerous brands include Lysol, Finish, Clearasil and French's foods. A company representative was not immediately available for comment. In 2008, the company leased 130,000 square feet at 14801 Sovereign Road in the Centreport Business Park south of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. Its filing with the Texas Workforce Commission says about 80 workers will be laid off effective Feb. 5, 2013, and the remainder will be let go when the facility closes in the second half of the year. The notice says the company is "providing enhanced severance and bonus packages that are inclusive of wages and bonus that will be no less than 6 months wages," as well as other outplacement services.

11/16/2012

Texas’ unemployment rate fell to 6.6 percent in October from 6.8 percent the previous month, as six of the state’s 11 major industries reported gains, led by education and health. Employers added 36,600 payroll jobs in the month and have added 269,000 jobs in the past year, which has seen all but one of the state’s major industries add positions, the Texas Workforce Commission said Friday. The annual gain amounts to 3 percent, well over the U.S. rate of 1.8 percent in the same time, and the state’s jobless rate is well below the national rate of 7.9 percent. The category that includes education and health jobs added 13,700 jobs in October, the largest monthly gain ever, TWC said. The category is up 43,000 jobs over the past year.

In Fort Worth-Arlington, employers added 4,600 new positions in October. The area’s unemployment rate was 6.1 percent, which is unadjusted for seasonal variations. It compares to the state’s unadjusted rate of 6.3 percent.

CarMax is hiring! The retailer of used cars and trucks says it plans to hire people to fill more than 50 positions at its four Dallas/Fort worth area stores, including the one at I-30 and Eastchase in east Fort Worth.

The dealerships will be hiring sales consultatns, auto detailers and technicians. CarMax will conduct initial reviews of applications and will then contact applicants and set up interviews. Technicians require previous automotive repair experiences.

08/17/2012

Texas employers added 17,800 jobs in July, the 24th consecutive monthly gain, but the state’s unemployment rate still rose to a seasonally adjusted 7.2 percent last month from 7 percent in June, the Texas Workforce Commission said today. In the past year, the state has added 222,500 nonfarm payroll jobs, enough to lower the Texas jobless rate from a seasonally adjusted 8.1 percent in July 2011. In the past two years employers added 457,700 new jobs, TWC said.

In Fort Worth-Arlington, the jobless rate was unchanged from June at 7.3 percent, but down from 8.3 percent a year earlier. Those figures are not seasonally adjusted. The comparable unadjusted state jobless rate in July was 7.5 percent. Statewide, the category of education and health jobs grew the most, adding 12,600 positions in July and 45,200 in the past year. Private employers in July added 9,100 jobs from June, while governments added 8,700, countering a longer-term trend of lower employment. The booming energy industry helped Midland record the state’s lowest jobless rate at 4.2 percent, while McAllen-Edinburg-Mission was the highest at 12.3 percent.